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Don't let the laid-back personalities and the almost aw-shucks demeanor of Tim and Alex Rattray downplay the importance of their work. These brothers are talented, hard-working culinary craftsmen who are expanding the nature of barbecue one plate at a time.

Tim leads the kitchen while Alex brews beers, and their respective contributions complement each other.

The culinary aesthetic here is rooted in a Central Texas style of barbecue. Beers have enough heft to complement the smokiness of the offerings without overpowering them, while the meats are rendered skillfully.

The brothers offer different dining experiences at lunch and dinner. Lunchtime features counter service and traditional Texas barbecue, while dinner offers table service and a more varied menu.

Slow-smoked brisket features a beautiful black crust, a yielding texture from the nearly melted connective tissue that has been rendered soft and a pleasant but not overwhelming flavor of smoke that permeates the meat.

A peppery sausage burst with juicy goodness as soon as a fork pierced the casing, smoke adding depth to the meaty flavor. The pulled pork also conveyed smoky essence, and even though it would have been better with a touch of a tangy Carolina-influenced sauce, that would have gone against the Texas ethos of the dish.

Ribs could have been more tender, but their flavor was satisfying.

The sides hint that this isn't a typical barbecue joint.

Baked beans are a mixture of pinto and black, cooked with brisket burnt ends, and include a vinegary tang. They're served almost at room temperature, as if the dish splits the difference between baked beans and a bean salad.

There is sauce here, slightly tangy with a touch of spice, and it's good. Save it to perk up some lesser barbecue.

Based on the Texas barbecue and the beers alone, this restaurant would merit consideration as an important culinary arrival.

But the brothers are just getting started, and dinner is when they show the skill and talent that make this place special.

The traditional Texas 'cue is available as a barbecue board, with a chef's selection of meats, baked beans, German-style potato salad, house-baked buttermilk bread, house-made pickles and sauce.

Then there's the rest of the menu, in which Tim Rattray employs smoke as one element in a well-stocked palette of flavors.

One of the most satisfying is the most simple — an appetizer of buttermilk bread made into Texas Toast and served with barbecue butter, a mixture of brisket drippings, butter and a sea salt. Where have you been all my life?

The pork belly works almost as a survey of the Americas through food. The meat has a rub of ground coriander and cumin, and it sits atop a slightly spicy dark sauce with diced and julienned jicama and masa spoon bread, which simultaneously evokes cornbread and various Mesoamerican masa creations. Thoughtful, yes. It also tastes fantastic.

An appetizer of root beer-glazed scallops show the depth of the brothers' ideas and the seamless way they work together.

Tim cooks down his brother's in-house brewed root beer to create a syrup that he uses to lightly glaze the nicely seared scallops. The dish includes dehydrated root beer slices that almost look like feta but dissolve on the tongue like sacramental wafers.

At times, this menu combines the primal method of cooking directly over fire with modernist techniques for a seamless marriage of flavors, textures and ingredients.

One of the best examples was in an appetizer of smoked raw oysters, which receive only a few minutes in a smoker and are topped with a thyme-infused lemon gelée. Simply brilliant.

Alex's beers merit a separate discussion. The styles change periodically and it was difficult to select a favorite among the ones available during our visits.

The light-bodied blonde includes pleasant but not overwhelming floral notes, while the rye saison displays fruit tones reminiscent of a hefeweizen. The India Pale Ale has a bright bitterness, and the brown ale offers a hefty, stout-like taste while maintaining a light mouthfeel.

Try them all in a sampler and see what you prefer. Or follow the recommendations of the well-trained servers and pair different beers with courses of a dinner.

Not into beer? Snag a house-brewed root beer, rich with caramelized flavors.

With such lofty performances throughout the menu, the grit fritters in a red-eye mayo proved a letdown. We love grits and their upscale sibling, polenta, but the mayo needed more coffeelike bitterness, like a good red-eye gravy.

There is such a thing as too much bitterness, however. A smoked cauliflower risotto proved more intellectually satisfying than tasty. Flavored with a reduction of the in-house India Pale Ale and the Italian fish roe bottarga, it was definitely bitter. Perhaps that dish would work better as a single bite or two in a far-ranging tasting menu, but a whole plate was a bit much.

Keep in mind, these high-quality meats, organic produce, culinary skill and rent at the Pearl all cost money, and that means the prices here are higher and portions, especially at dinner, are smaller than typical barbecue joints.

That may be an adjustment in a city where most of us are accustomed to paying a few bucks for a pile of meat. It's worth it.